Chapter one
I checked the address again on the last text that she sent to me. "1231 Kaysin Street. B there @ 11:30. Don't B late. Ask 4 CherylS @ the desk." I checked my watch. It was 11:25. The building was non-descript. It was just a large white box with a covered driveway in the front.
A small painted sign hung from the awning that said "Circus" with a smiling clown face and the address printed below. There was no one else visible from the street in front of the building.
"What the fuck" I thought, "No guts, no glory."
I pulled my 735 into the driveway and up to the front of the building. Black glass doors with chrome fixturing were the only break in the building faΓ§ade.
I stopped my car in front of the doors. As soon as the engine died, the entrance door opened and a small man dressed in a white tux ran out and around to my car door. I could barely see the top of his bald head as he opened my door and ushered me out.
He handed me a receipt and held his hand out for the keys. I hesitated for a second. The sight was just too bizarre for words. He suddenly snatched the keys from my hand, jumped into the front seat and without a word the engine roared to life and with tires screeching he was gone around the corner.
Still undecided as to if I had just been carjacked by a midget or parked by the world's smallest valet, I walked up to the front door. I reached for the chrome handle but it opened inward before I could make contact. Inside there was a single purple light shining down onto a gleaming chrome desk.
Behind the desk was an incredibly beautiful woman wearing a black vinyl body suit. Her blonde hair was pulled into a pony tail so tight that I could almost hear her skin around her eyes screaming to ease the pain.
Her lipgloss was a shining black that caught highlights from the purple light above. She wore no other makeup. A single silver cross hung around her neck and lay between her vinyl covered breasts as if to ward off any evil.
She brought an iPad up from under the desk and said "code in, sir" while turning the screen for me to see. There was a keypad on the screen, and I stared at it for a moment while trying to figure out what code she was talking about. Then I remembered the test message and typed "CherylS".
The screen went blank, and for a moment I thought that I had done something wrong. Suddenly there was a break in what I had initially thought was a solid black wall behind the blonde woman.
The break became an opening spilling out blinding yellow light. Out of the opening came another woman. This one dressed in a grey three piece suit. With her sensible shoes and horn rimmed glasses she looked for the entire world like she had just left her job as Vice President of something or other at the local bank before coming to Circus.
Cradled in her left arm was a portfolio which she opened as she stepped behind the desk. "Sir my name is Landry, and I will be your escort until your host arrives" she said. "Are you in possession of a phone, camera or any other recording device on your person?" she asked while looking up at me and adjusting her glasses.
I told her that I had my iPhone. She held out a perfectly manicured hand and asked that I please give it to her for the length of my stay. I removed it from my jacket pocket and was about to ask her for the reason when she snatched it away from me quicker than I would have thought possible and dropped it into a silver pouch.
On the front of the pouch was a photograph of my face that must have been taken as I stood in front of the desk. The pouch disappeared under her coat and then she pointed for me to walk around the desk and follow her through the opening.
The hallway that we walked through was also painted black, and there were more black windows on either side of the hall just below eye level. Every few yards there was chrome light fixture in the ceiling from which shone the annoying yellow light. At the end of the hall was another door.
This one was easy to discern as it had a huge chrome lockbox below the ornate knob. From her pocket, my guide produced an enormous silver key that she slid silently into the lockbox slot. After a few seconds the door opened. I was slightly relieved that there appeared to be no unpleasant surprises behind the door.
The room that we entered was large and had many doors. There was an opening just to our right and my guide walked up and pressed a button just to the right. A very tall man appeared. He was also dressed in a white tuxedo. He had to stoop to look through the opening. My escort opened her portfolio and said "zero three three eight alpha sierra tango."
Somehow the code worked as the tall man left for a moment and then came back with three items; a plain white towel, a plastic cup and a small rectangle of black plastic on a silver chain. I was observing the items but at the same time thinking about the code she had given him. Something about it rang familiar to me.
Landry handed me all three items and turned the portfolio for me to observe.
"Please sign here sir that you have received your towel, cup and key" she said as she handed me a silver pen.
I signed where it seemed appropriate. She checked the signature, nodded her head and turned toward the far wall.
"Please hold your key in front of you and press down on the middle with your thumb" she directed.